Waste management of the palm oil industry: present status and future perspective

Numerous research and developments have emerged in the last 100 years, primarily dedicated to waste management. Among the subjects they have focused on are life-cycle assessments, treatment and minimisation of waste and mitigation of waste environmental impact. These massive efforts came into effect to mitigate the detrimental impacts of waste generation from production industries. One industry that has been plagued with rising sustainability issues is the palm oil industry, which is the main engine of development in South East Asia. The oil palm is a significant flex crop. In Malaysia and Indonesia particularly, crude palm oil production has raised red flags due to its massive waste generation. To illustrate, different types of wastes are generated from 1 t of processed fresh fruit bunches - namely, palm oil mill effluent (POME) (60%), empty fruit bunches (23%), mesocarp fibres (12%), shell (5%) and gas emissions. The high nitrogen content, high chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand of POME cause severe environmental pollution. Nevertheless, the biomethane generated from POME through anaerobic digestion can be harnessed as renewable bioenergy. Hence, the sustainability of the palm oil industry could be ensured by combining both the production of renewable energy and the treatment of waste water.